Interceptor's Wish

by Masterdude21

What started as a young man's search for his abducted mother spirals out of control. Soon, he is fighting a desperate war for survival against greater odds than a more generous God would have allowed. The enemy is everywhere and allies are far too few. With the entire region at stake, who can prevail when fate itself seems set against you? - Novelization of Pokemon Rejuvenation.

24. Returning to Roots

Chapter 7 - A Teila Fire and Ice

Returning to Roots

~~~~~~~(I)~~~~~~~

---

Teila Resort

September 8th

"Veronica! It's been years since we've seen each other!" Tesla said, and Will saw Venam's cheeks starting to glow. "You've grown into a fine woman, dear."

"Thanks, but uh, it's "Venam" now," she said.

Over on the couch, Amber rolled with her eyes.

"Ah, sorry, sorry! Venam it is!"

"My Toxtricity could come up with a cooler nickname than that," Amber grumbled derisively.

Venam shot her the nicest "I'm gonna murder you" face Will had seen. "That's cool and all, but I don't remember asking you for your opinion."

Well damn. That one was actually –

"It's a good thing I don't need your approval to say things out of my mouth," Amber shot back, and that one was also really good.

Man, all these sharp tongues and stinging comebacks and there he was, thinking "no you" was the height of wit.

"Alright, alright," Tesla said soothingly. "Onto the topic of the ritual – Amber is right. It takes some time to set up. It should be ready in two days."

Forty-eight hours until the Relic was ready. Forty-eight hours for Team Xen to interfere. They could do that.

"That's fine by me," Melia said.

Tesla got up from her seat and walked around her desk. "I don't want you to go all the way back to Kakori just to have to come back in two days…So please feel welcome to stay in one of our luxurious rooms for the time being~!"

Oh, luxury...

Melia looked at her in shock. "Thank you so much!"

"Wow, for real?" Venam said. "Oh man, that sounds so cool!"

"Right, are we done here then?" Amber snapped.

Tesla glanced at her. "That should be all, yes. By the way, Amber – "

But Amber shoved herself to her feet and marched out of the office, completely ignoring her mother along the way.

Will watched as she slammed the door shut behind her. Being all pissed off at Venam and Saki, he could understand. Being gruff to Melia and him also made sense on a certain level. But why Tesla?

Tesla sighed and turned away from the door. "She's been getting worse and worse lately," she said quietly. "I fear this is my fault…"

"No offense, but your daughter is a lost cause," Venam told her.

"Venam," Melia hissed at her.

"What?"

"I've certainly spoiled her growing up, but lately she hasn't even looked in my direction," Tesla said, hurt creeping into her voice. "I think it's because of what I did…"

"I don't think this is your fault," Will said.

She smiled sadly. "Thank you for the words, Will, but I believe it really was…After Team Xen's broadcast aired, I told her that I would be evacuating her to East Gearen City with a friend of mine."

Ah. Well, Will could imagine Amber not taking that very well. "That's a rough call," he said. "I…when my mother told me to leave her behind and escape, back uh, back on the Oceana, I lost my marbles too."

Venam gave him an odd look.

Grimacing, Tesla said, "It gets worse. Said friend was coincidentally Venam's mother, Chasity…"

Venam visibly cringed at that. "I'm…."

"And since she apparently doesn't get along with Venam very well, I think that's when she, uh, lost her marbles, as you put it."

Melia cast a skeptical look at the door. "Would she lash out this badly for a reason like that, though?"

With another heavy sigh, Tesla slumped back in her chair. "Who can say? All I know is that I pinched a nerve with that decision…well, be it as it may, I think that's enough for today. Allow me to show you to your room."

They gathered the rest of their friends and then Tesla gave them an impromptu tour through Teila Resort. Most of the buildings Will had already spotted on his own, but along the way Tesla gave them some pointers to places none of them had seen before.

"And up there, if you follow those stope steps up behind the resort, you will find a stone platform perfect for sunbathing at an elevation," Tesla explained. "We call it Diver's Bluff. It's also a thirty-foot drop straight into the ocean for the more adventurous in your group."

Will followed Tesla's gaze to the hills behind the resort. He couldn't see the plateau from this angle, but he would certainly give that one a shot. Maybe Val could give him some pointers? Show him how not to land on his ass or his head?

"Hah, no thanks, I wanna live," Venam said.

"Seems risky, that's a big fall," Melia agreed.

"I can think of better ways to lose my clothes, yeah," Val said.

Saki and Adam gave her a look.

"What? Shoddy clothing tends to rip when under duress," Val said.

"…what kind of duress?" Braixen asked teasingly.

"Tch. Get your fluff out of the gutter, Braix. I've done my share of cliff diving and tubing."

"Well, cliff jumping is not for everyone, no," Tesla said. "Let's see, what did I forget…there was the spa, the recreation facilities, the gym, the indoor pool, the bars and restaurants…ah, right, breakfast. We have a dining facility in the resort for the more mainstream audience. Aside from the regional themes when it comes to dinner, we serve breakfast there every morning from half past eight to ten.

"Sounds great, we'll keep that in mind," Val said.

Then, Tesla took them to one of the luxury apartment close to Teila Resort's entrance, from where they could quickly relocate if trouble arose. It was a beautiful structure that allowed them to hop into the water from literally every angle. The living room was like a smaller version of the resort's atrium and each bedroom could have been a luxurious hotel room on its own.

The bathroom was lined with tasteful, marble tiles and big enough for the entire group to stand and brush their teeth at the same time. The bathtub alone could have fit two of them. Dozens of tiny LED lights lined the shower and they could be controlled by a waterproof interface near the shower's entrance. Will played with the buttons a few times, counting at least seven different colors.

Neat.

"Like I told the others, feel free to stay here as long as you need," Tesla said. "You are welcome guests here at Teila Resort!"

"Aw man, thanks missus Von Brandt! At least someone from your bloodline isn't tarnished with evil!" Saki said, proving once again that some people were just born without a filter.

"Um, thank you?" A very confused-looking Tesla replied. "It's nice to see that you're still the same little Saki Blakeory."

"I'm not little – " Saki started, but then she seemed to think better of it. "Actually, no you're right. I am a little mad I have to stay here with Puke-nose!"

Venam, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed, shot her a dirty look. "I'm not even here for you, dumbass, I'm here for my friends Will, Melia and Aelita."

Saki grinned cheekily. "I never said who Puke-nose was so you have just taken the title of Puke-nose the Second!"

"Who was the first?" Val asked.

"Classified," Saki said, nodding to herself as she smiled enigmatically.

Braixen started to raise a pointy finger at Adam, but he gave her a truly menacing look and then she lowered her finger again.

"Right, well, I believe it's time to head home," Tesla said. "Please don't hesitate to find me if you need anything."

A chorus of "thank you!" and "thanks!" echoed through the room as everybody profusely expressed their gratitude for the hospitality.

"Oh please, it's quite alright!" Tesla said, blushing a bit. "You are fighting to preserve Terajuma, after all. This is the least we can do. Enjoy your day!"

After that, Tesla left, and the group all sat down around the dinner table while Melia brought them up to speed; she told them about the role Amber would play in the trial and then took the time to introduce Venam to everybody.

"It's very nice to meet you guys," Venam said after all the introductions and names. "I'm still missing out on a lotta info, but I understand that you've been taking care of my friends in the meantime and I'm very grateful!"

Saki opened her mouth and Val kicked her shin underneath the table. "So, two days of pure and simple chilling?"

Melia nodded.

"Gotta get my swimming trunks in order," Adam said.

"Oh man! I can't wait to get some actual swimming done!" Aelita said.

"Swimming? How about sunbathing?" Braixen said. "I'm still getting the chills every time I think of that waterfall!"

"Na Braix, I gotta think of an invention to fight off that pesky Giratina," Saki said. "Stupid over-inflated chicken has had it too well for too damn LONG."

"How would something like that even look?" Will asked.

"Something that shoots a big freaking bomb or something, or a big metal suit to punch its chicken clock out, I dunno," Saki said. "Gotta marinate in my juices. It's a process, you know? Gotta respect the process."

"Gotta respect the process," Will agreed.

"Either way, I'm chillin'," Venam chimed in.

"Yeah! Let's take it easy for the rest of the day!" Melia agreed. "So what are we going to do?"

"Let's head up to that cliff!" Val suggested. "Pack up the entire gang, rent some parasols and have fun. I feel like catching some rays myself, too. Blacksteeple Castle has been far too dark for my tastes."

"Heck yeah, now you're talking!" Aelita said. "I'll pack a bag, take some water and stuff."

"Water? Pfft! How about some berry juice!" Saki chimed in. "There's a shop right down from here! If we gonna party, we gonna party big!"

And so it was, with Saki's degree, that they moved their party to the cliff above the resort. Adam and Will took the parasols with them, Aelita and Saki went and gathered a couple of bottles of berry juice and Val went and bought some sunscreen and brought towels.

"So uh, you guys all met on this Blacksteeple Castle, huh?" Venam started. "But you're all Gym Leaders as well. How did Team Xen get you?"

"Ol' reliable," Adam said. "Underhanded tactics and cowardly, cruel tactics."

"In Akuwa Town, they pulled a combination of mass abductions, hostages and attacking strong trainers from ambushes," Val explained. "They had their best people infiltrate the aquarium so when I came running, they nabbed me before I could even react."

"Shit, that blows," Venam said. She cast a look at Adam.

"Something like that," Adam replied. "Either they get you when you let your guard down, or they make you lower it yourself."

"Uh…meaning?"

"Meaning, they catch you in your sleep, or they simply knock you out with sleep powder or by spiking your food," Adam said flatly.

"I see. I uh, I didn't realize," Venam quietly said, looking quite disturbed with what Adam just told her. "Is that how they got you too, Will? Aelita?"

"Y-Yeah," Aelita quickly said. "Big ambush. A lotta Xen grunts."

Will's first response was not to respond at all. However, he recalled what Melia had told him about grief and putting things off, and didn't want to appear angry or apathetic to Venam either. She was his friend, and he cared for her just as much as the others. "They were called Death Wings," he quietly said. "They uh…they – "

He couldn't get the rest of his words out.

"Team Xen's elite units, apparently," Aelita said. "There were dozens of the bastards, and we didn't have our Pokemon out."

Smaller steps, then.

"That…that's it?" Venam asked when Aelita didn't elaborate. Whatever else Venam was, she was not stupid. She looked at Aelita, one purple eyebrow raised, then turned to look at Melia. Melia, for her part, kept her gaze locked on the path ahead. Nobody else said anything, either.

And Venam did not question it.

They continued their trek up the stone steps and ended up on a large, reddish plateau of rock that stretched out over the ocean. There wasn't much shade or cover up there, but the people of the resort had thought of everything. Scattered across the plateau were all kinds of beach beds, carved rocks with parasols already sticking out of them and several towel stations. In the back, seemingly carved from the rocks, a pair of bartenders were busy taking inventory of their stocks and cleaning the counter of their stone bar.

"Now this," Val said, flicking her sunglasses down, "I can get used to."

The girls wasted no time in putting a quartet of beach beds together underneath one of the available parasols. Sunscreen was exchanged, towels were hung in place and within minutes, all four of them were lounging in their beds, their faces protected from the glare of the sun by the parasols.

Minus Saki, of course. "How am I supposed to build a sandcastle here?" She complained.

"You can try making a stone castle?" Braixen suggested. "Now come on, I want one of those beds as well!"

Adam looked at the edge of the plateau and shot Will a knowing look

Will caught his gaze and held it.

"This is what separates the boys from the men," Adam told him with the utmost gravitas.

Damn right.

Melia uttered a bone-deep sigh as she closed her eyes and rested her head on the cushioned end of the bed. "God, I needed this…" she muttered.

"Right? There's something seriously relaxing about just kicking back and enjoying the sun…" Val agreed.

"I could use the tan, I suppose," Aelita joined in.

"Heh…quiet and peaceful…" Venam grinned.

"Yeah," Melia agreed. "Quiet and peaceful…"

That was when Adam and Will came sprinting past them, roaring at the top of their lungs as they flung themselves over the edge.

Gravity shoved Will's guts all the way up to his neck. The sheer exhilaration of the sudden plummet tore a screaming laugh from his throat that lasted right until the point of impact. He slammed into the water feet-first. The force of the impact blew all sense of direction from his head before his body registered the sudden shock of the cold, salty water.

But damn if the rush of adrenaline wasn't the greatest thing ever!

Together, Adam and him swam back to the shore, where they took a moment to catch their breath and appreciate the sheer manliness of their combined jump.

"Yup. That was great," Adam said. He sighed contently, then flicked a hand through his mob of blue hair. "Been a long while since I did something like that. Not much swimming opportunities in the desert."

"Well get you back there, Adam," Will said. He spat out a mouthful of saliva and salt water. "We'll get you home."

"Hmm.'Preciate the thought, Will. Just don't forget about yourself."

Will snorted. "Best next thing to home is me being here. Protecting Melia with Aelita."

"I can't be the judge of that. Team Xen is making things very difficult. Still…there's worse places to be. Melia and Aelita are good people, and they care about you a lot."

"Yeah," Will quietly agreed. "They are."

"So uh, this might not be my place to ask at all, but do you fancy one of them?"

Will gave him a look. Maybe the salt water had somehow gotten to his brain or something, but he didn't follow along. "Fancy?"

"You know. In a romantic way?" Adam said simply. "Can't help but notice you're always more relaxed when they're around."

Oh.

Oh.

Ah. "Y-Yeah, well, uh," Will stammered. He hadn't really thought about them like that. At least, not consciously. "I uh, I guess I haven't thought about that yet."

Adam gave him a noncommittal gesture. "Fair. These are bad times. Bad times have a way of bringing people together. A whole generation of kids was born nine months after Storm-9, for example. Romance and love are antithesis to darkness and hopelessness."

"I dunno Adam, I never was a social butterfly before I came to Aevium and I haven't gotten much better," Will said. "I think Aelita sees me like more of a brother than anything."

"Maybe," he conceded. "What about Melia? Or Val? Saki's an idiot most of the time, but she's the smart kind of idiot. She's not pulling her stupid jokes out of her ass."

Will couldn't help but chuckle. Valarie was a beautiful woman and he was always happy to see her. At this point though, between everything that had happened and everything that was still bound to happen, he couldn't exactly trust his own judgment in this matter. "I care about Melia," he admitted. "But I also care about Val and Aelita and Saki…I care about you and Braixen. You guys are the closest thing to family I have left. I want to make sure you guys are safe before I can reflect on things like romance."

"Hmm. Afraid the human brain does what it wants, when it wants, Will," Adam said. "It might not wait for you to be ready. Regardless, the feeling is mutual."

They headed back up to the cliffs together. Without shoes, the stone steps ranged pleasantly warm to blazing hot. By the time they'd make it back up, they were almost dry again.

"There's our merry idiots," Saki said.

Val peered at them from over her sunglasses. "How was the swim?"

"Refreshing," Adam said.

Braixen poked her head out from behind Saki. "Well, you guys didn't die a horrible death, so there's that."

"Don't sound so disappointed," Will quipped. "There's always round two. Wanna join?"

"William if you take one step towards me then so help me!" Braixen shouted, indignant.

Those able to swim had a laugh at that, and Adam and Will parked themselves around the beach beds. Adam took a seat down in the shade behind Val and Saki, while Will laid down on the rocks in the gap between Melia and Aelita. The rocky plateau felt pleasantly warm, and for a few minutes he just lay there, watching the clouds pass by and letting his thoughts drift aimlessly.

Eventually, Melia tilted her head thoughtfully and said, "That scar's healed up nicely," she said, pointing at the little blotch on the left side of his chest.

"Right? All ready for the next one."

Melia made a face. "Oof, don't even joke about that."

Venam pulled herself upright. "What's healed up? Huh? When'd you get that?"

"Pulling Melia out of Goldenwood Forest," Will explained. Had he never told Venam about that? "I caught some shrapnel during the fight with that Rift Gyarados."

Something like confusion came over Venam's face. "But…that was right before we went after Melia in Amethyst Cave!"

"Yeah?" Will said.

Venam looked pensive. "You were running and fighting with a bleeding shrapnel wound that entire time?"

Will shrugged. "Yeah?"

Venam didn't respond to that. She stared at him for another long moment, her brows furrowed in concentration. Maybe she was recalling how exactly everything had gone down that day?

"Okay, no joke, that's hardcore," Saki said.

"Big holy shit moment, yeah," Val said.

Aelita glanced around smugly. "Is anyone really surprised? I mean, come on."

"You know what they say, girls like guys with scars!" Braixen chimed in as well.

"Except for the ones that don't," Adam, always the realist, shot back.

"Fair, I suppose," Braixen said. "But many do!"

Will started to become keenly aware of a heat building on his face that had nothing to do with the sun. He hadn't thought of it like that at all.

"Guess some of them do, huh?" Venam said with a sigh.

"What about you, Venam?" Val teased. She put her elbows on her knees and gave Will's side a very pointed look. "You got a thing for guys with scars?"

Venam regarded Will critically, her lips pursed. One corner of her mouth rose in a sly smirk. "I think Will would make a very pretty girl with a scar. Since he's not, I'll pass."

A girl with a scar? What the she mean by–

Oh. Oh.

Oh.

Huh. Well, love was love.

…how did he keep missing that kind of stuff?

He also didn't appreciate the way Braixen began giggling manically though. Val, too, wore a big smirk underneath her sunglasses that he just knew meant trouble.

The rest of Venam's words got through to him then and he shoved himself back up to shoot her a glare. "Beg your pardon? Why would I make a – wh-what's that supposed to mean!"

"Aww, look, he's getting all flustered now," Valarie said.

"Isn't it cute?" Braixen said.

"Now I get why Braixen wants to go with us shopping," Aelita said.

It shouldn't have come as a surprise that Aelita was in on it, but he would really appreciate it if she could let him in on it as well. He felt like he was missing something critical here.

Helpless, he turned to Melia for aid. If Aelita had succumbed then at least Melia, always dependable, would be above this nonsense -

He caught a glimpse of her flushed cheeks before Melia quickly looked away.

…so it was like that, then?

Will huffed as they all snickered around him. It appeared he was surrounded on every front. He couldn't even count on Melia to bail him out – she was with them now. "I can't believe you guys."

"See it as a compliment!" Aelita said with a big, goofy smile. "They're calling you pretty!"

As far as compliments went, Will could think of worse things to be called, but his gut told him that there was some ulterior motive at play here. "I'm a guy! That's not how things work for us!"

Val and Braixen broke into giggly laughs again.

A shiver ran down his spine. Will turned away so that nobody would get to see the heat on his face.

"You're surrounded Will," Adam said. "My advice? Run. While you still have the chance."

He took that advice to hear. "I'm going to go jump off a cliff now."

After some manual cooling down and distancing on his part, things quieted down again.

Things stayed quiet as well and it took Will the longest time to figure out why that bothered him so much. The rest of the day went by without a hitch and that bothered him up the wall. A part of him kept expecting things to go horribly wrong, kept wondering when Team Xen would strike. Even as the group decided to end things for the day by visiting one of the fancy restaurants in the evening, Will kept checking his surroundings, kept his head on a swivel. Staying constantly aware of his surroundings helped him stay somewhat calm and collected in the surprisingly crowded restaurant, but it also made it difficult to keep track of all the conversations around him.

Valarie seemed to be in the middle of it – she always was. She explained to Venam how life had been in Blacksteeple Castle, how Team Xen had left nothing up to chance regarding their prisoners and keeping themselves sustained. She told her about the finer details like the mines, the prestige room and the beautiful gardens and elaborate library.

On the other end of the table, Saki and Aelita were discussing ways to build a contraption that would be able to put a stop to Giratina. Right next to them, Braixen kept trying to coax Adam into a philosophical debate, but he wasn't fooled one bit.

Surprisingly, Melia kept a bit of a low profile. She stared down at the menu card, but when Will leaned in a bit closer, he saw that her eyes weren't moving.

"Hey Melia," he said.

No response.

He picked up her menu card and lifted it a few inches off the table. Her eyes fluttered and she seemed to shake herself out of her thoughts. "Hm? What?"

"How are you doing?" He asked her.

Melia stayed quiet for a while, looking at Venam and Val as they laughed. "Thinking about family, I suppose," she finally said. "Seeing da – seeing Professor Jenner reacting like he did when he saw that I was still alive…I keep thinking back to that. I keep picturing the shock on his face, thinking…is that because I am still an objective to him? Is it…because he's glad to see me alive? I can't figure it out."

"Hmm. I…can't offer you certainty," Will started. "But I have some thoughts about that, if you're interested."

"Please," she offered.

"Well…when Hapi teleported you out of his lab, Professor Jenner was very adamant about Ren and me going after you and keeping Team Xen from getting to you," Will said, carefully mulling over his words so that he wouldn't say anything to make her feel worse. "Even when Crescent began throwing him into her pocket dimension, he made sure his last words were about you. And…Zetta did have to hold a knife to his throat. Maybe that was simply to abuse your feelings, I don't know. But they had to abduct him instead of retreating together. I think that counts for something."

Next to them, Saki mimed something and Adam slapped his hand to his mouth to keep from spitting out a mouthful of water. He was only partially successful.

Melia considered his words. "If the choice were yours, if it were up to you…would you forgive him?"

"Okay…you know me by now, right?" Will said. "I'm not exactly the…uh, the best person to ask for social advice."

"No, but I trust your judgment," Melia said.

Her words nestled someplace warm below his ribs. For a moment, Will looked away, unsure how to react to that. Then he remembered Keta. Keta, whom he had been quick to deem as scum when he first saw him. Keta, whose life had ended as one of the bravest men he would ever have the privilege of knowing. "It depends on Professor Jenner himself. Everybody deserves a second chance if they are willing to fight for it."

Melia offered him a sad, uncertain smile. Her long hair rustled gently in the breeze. "That's not really an answer."

Acting more on impulse than anything else, Will reached out and placed his hand on top of hers. He gave her fingers a reassuring squeeze. "It will be once we free him. You'll know what to do, then."

Melia didn't pull her hand away, not even when the waitress came to get their orders.

He wasn't sure if his words were of any use to her, but as the evening progressed and the sun started setting, he didn't see her zoning out again, either.

So he took that as a victory, no matter how small it was.

Inevitably the day came to a close. None of them stayed up past ten in the evening; the past few days had really hacked away at their reserves and everybody needed their rest. They clocked out one by one.

Now that he had his own private bedroom to sleep in, Will hoped that he'd sleep a little easier this time around. No such luck; it took him the longest time to finally fall asleep and when he did, he went right to the Oceana. Apparently, drowning in the freezing ocean meant waking up inside of a jail cell in Maria's mansion. He didn't have a roof over his head and it was raining, raining streaks of crimson that stuck to his face like paint, like his mother's blood when Indriad Theolia drove his sword through her spine –

Will jerked awake, a scream frozen in his throat. His heart pounded against his ribcage and his body burned with adrenaline. He had a roof over his head, a door instead of prison bars and a window through which he could see that it wasn't raining, and certainly not raining blood.

He was alone.

Tired and angry, he kicked his sheets from his bed and turned onto his side.

Indriad is gone, he told himself. He's gone. You're fine. Indriad is gone. He's gone, you're fine…

He was fine.

He was fine.

~~~~~~~(II)~~~~~~~

---

Mount Valor

Geara stirred in his bed. He turned on his side, only to come face to face with that damned abomination Zetta called his Pokemon. It was close, far too close for his comfort, and he would not stay silent this time around. "Zetta!" He snapped, and on the other side of the room his colleague woke up with a start. "It's bad enough that we have to share a room because your stupid dog peed in yours! But could you at least GIVE ME SOME SPACE!"

Something broke down again in the base; he could hear some sort of weird beeping noise coming from the room next to them.

"Don't YELL at me!" Zetta snapped back. "Zepto is uncomfortable in that helmet of his with all the heat and he gets anxious! You know that!"

"I don't care!" Geara yelled. "Just tame it or keep it in its Pokeball or something!"

"He's claustrophobic…" Zetta muttered. He paused, then turned his head as if listening to something. Again, that stupid beeping sound from the machines echoed through the hall. "Uh, do you hear that?"

Except this time, the noise became faster and louder, like some sort of clock or…

…or a countdown.

"Oh for fuck's sa – "

And a fucking explosion tore their fucking base apart.

~~~~~~~(III)~~~~~~~

---

A faint, gray light shone through the crags in his curtain, suggesting that it was morning already. Will rolled onto his back, stretching his arms and his legs as he gathered his wits again. He heard the soft noises of people moving around in the house and guessed that the others were up already.

The smell of fresh bread pulled him into the living room, but he didn't see anyone there. Instead, Will found his friends in various states scattered around the balcony that surrounded their luxury apartment. He found Saki staring off into the distance with a contemplative look on her pale features. Braixen sat a few feet away, dangling her legs over the edge and basking in the warm rays of the sun.

"Morning," Will greeted them.

Saki grunted something back. She had a pencil between her lips and a ruler behind her left ear.

"Hey Will!" Braixen greeted him, chipper as always. "How are you doing? Hopefully well?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"I'm doing just great, thanks for asking. The breeze here feels amazing. Being a Pokemon is so freeing sometimes…"

He found Aelita on the other side of the house, quietly doing her daily stretches in the shade. "Heya Will! How'd you sleep?" She asked.

"Fine. What's on your schedule today?"

"I was thinking of getting some swimming done! It's been a while since I've practiced my front stroke. Always hated that one, but it is the best."

"Val said something along those lines, yeah. It's the fastest, but last time I tried it, I got pretty winded."

"Slow down the kick and reach for looong pulls," Aelita said. "You gotta glide through the water, not plow."

"I'll keep that in mind."

With Saki, Aelita and Braixen accounted for, Will headed to the front of the house. There, he found Val, Melia and Venam sitting on the bench, just a little off to the side. He must have walked straight past them without even seeing them.

"Morning," he said, glad to see that almost everybody was accounted for. Only Adam left.

"Good morning Will!" Melia greeted back, looking as sharp as ever. "We were just discussing what we plan on doing today."

"It's a free day, so I was considering treating everyone to a day at the spa," Val said. "It's important to work, but it's also important to be pampered and cared for!"

"Ooh…a foot massage," Venam said with a longing moan.

Will scoffed at that. Being pampered wasn't exactly his idea of having a good time. Too awkward for his tastes and he had much better things to do than…

…did they do back massages at the spa? Something like a shoulder rub? He had a bit of a kink in his shoulder after his cliff jumping session.

Aelita strolled around the corner, working her elbow joints as she asked, "Hey has anyone seen Adam this morning?"

On cue, someone shot up from the water right below her and Aelita nearly jumped out of her skin. She uttered a shrill cry and leapt back in fear.

Will's mind instantly went to Team Xen ambushes and hostile Pokemon attacking them from underwater. He walked towards the edge and took a closer look –

It wasn't a Pokemon. It wasn't even Team Xen. It was just some really buff guy with a mob of messy, brown hair. The guy probably got lost or something. Surfaced at the wrong house.

"Um…who is that?" Melia asked. Braixen and Saki peeked their heads around the corner as well.

"No idea," Val said. "Venam? You know this guy?"

"Got no clue," Venam said.

The strange man regarded them with an almost bored, if questioning look. "Have you guys lost your minds or something?"

Will recognized his voice.

"A-Adam?" Valarie exclaimed.

"Yes," Adam-with-brown-hair said, as if she was being an idiot simply for asking.

"Your hair!" Braixen said.

"The dye was fading so I went to the salon to have it removed," Adam simply said. "I don't think the blue was fitting anyway. It was an experimental thing."

Will stared at Adam in shock. It couldn't be. "It…wasn't natural?" He asked.

His friends gave him the sort of look teachers usually reserved for their especially dimwitted students.

"Oh lord…" Braixen said, planting her palm against her forehead.

"Will, surely you aren't serious?" Melia said. "His hair was blue."

"…I can't believe nobody told Will that," Aelita said, visibly holding back her laughter. "The horror."

"Will, sweetie, dear, honey," Val said with great patience. "Look at me. Our hair is blue. Did you think it was natural?"

A part of him had hoped. A part of him had clung to the hope that somehow, it could have been possible. "Kinda, yeah."

Will had never seen a group of people collectively facepalm at the same time.

"Took me the longest time to figure it out too, fam," Saki said. "Sometimes life is a big disappointment…"

"Look at the poor thing, his entire worldview has been shattered," Braixen snickered.

"Okay - " Will started. "Aelita's hair is purple."

"So is mine," Venam said. "Guess what? Also dyed."

Aelita flicked a hand through her hair and grinned. "I'm just awesome like that."

"How is this coming from the guy who solved both obstacles in the Aquamarine Cave before anyone else?" Adam said.

"Look – "

"Guys, this is simply and obviously a case of overspecialization," Aelita explained. "Will is simply so hyper focused on kicking Team Xen's ass that the rest isn't important."

Melia began laughing at that.

"I mean, that is one explanation," Val said, looking like she too could barely hold back a laugh.

Okay. With the power of hindsight, perhaps that error was his.

"But uh…Adam?" Val then said, her expression hardening. "You went to the spa without me? You should've woken me up…"

"Oh no, last time I woke you up to do something I got smacked upside the head," Adam sternly said.

"Oh, yeah, hah, true, I did do that!" Val said, smacking herself on the head as if she'd just made a mistake tying her shoes instead of punching her friend in her sleep. "In my defense I thought you were a Zigzagoon trying to bite my face off!"

In a strange way, Will could actually relate to that.

"QUICK ADAM, HIDE!" Saki yelled out of nowhere. "SAM IS COMING THIS WAY!"

"Wh-What!" Adam sputtered. He took a deep breath and then disappeared underwater again.

"Hehe…sucker," Saki said with a snicker.

One of the rangers walked down the waterway towards their home. Much to Will's surprise, it really was Sam. "I'm glad I found all of you," he said, looking grim. "I wanted to report that there's been an explosion at Valor Mountain late last night."

That got their attention.

"An explosion?!" Melia gasped.

"Yes," Sam said. "It was around three AM. Billowing smoke came from the side of the mountain. At first we believed it to be Valor Mountain erupting, but that was confirmed to be false."

A dozen things could have caused something like that. Sabotage, malfunction, infighting, negligence…Crescent.

The urge to call Pidgeot out and take a look himself was almost overwhelming. He couldn't be rash though. Had it been anyone else suggesting they fly in to take a look. Will would have told them that they shouldn't jump to conclusions. He had to apply that same standard to himself.

"What do we do about that?" Aelita asked.

"There is simply nothing to do as of this moment," Sam said with a sigh. "This was merely a report on the current standings of the Team Xen crisis. Good day to you all." Sam made to leave, but then stopped. Frowning, he drew his gaze across their group again. "Where's Adam?"

"Oh, he's somewhere around here," Saki said with a lazy grin.

Sam looked somewhat disappointed at that. "Ah. Well, tell him hi for me."

"Will do!"

The ranger took off again, and it was a good thing he did. Adam emerged from the water again with a deep gasp, and he fluttered around for a moment, almost frantic. After a few more deep gasps of air, he looked at Saki with large, questioning eyes. "I almost drowned."

"Sometimes himbos will be himbos," Saki said.

Will leaned towards Val. "What's a himbo?" He whispered.

"I uh, I'll explain that one later," she replied.

"What do you think caused that explosion?" Aelita asked.

Melia hopped down on the bench again and rested her chin on her hands, thinking it through. "Hm…maybe something went wrong?"

"Or maybe they're testing out explosives," Braixen suggested. She shuddered. "If Team Xen starts blowing the place up, it'll be a huge problem."

Explosions…explosives…

Could they…perhaps…?

Slowly, the beginnings of an idea started falling into place.

"No use worrying about it if we can't do anything about it," Val said, letting herself fall backwards on the bench again. "Let's just take today to unwind and get some rest for the trials ahead."

"Yeah," Melia agreed.

Explosives wouldn't do them much good if Team Xen still had their hostages, but…in their attempts to intimidate and bully their victims into submission, they had shared crucial info.

Namely, that they kept Nim locked up inside of the mountain. Logic dictated that they'd keep Professor Jenner there, too. Keeping tabs on their hostages was much easier if they were kept in the same cell and it wasn't as if they had to worry about Jenner and Nim conspiring to escape together.

Bombing Valor Mountain was right out.

But the same couldn't be said for their blockade.

A lifetime ago he had told Maria that sometimes, the best way to fight force was with force.

Will uttered an ecstatic breath. That was how he would do it. That was how he would stop Team Xen and protect his friends.

"Whoah, That sounded happy. Whatcha thinking about Will?" Valarie said.

Happy thoughts. "Putting a plan together," Will replied. "Nothing concrete yet."

"Hopefully Team Xen blows themselves up," Aelita said. "That would be fun."

It would be even better if someone could give them a helping hand in that regard. Will had another entry for his journal today.

"So…I'm actually concerned about that explosion on Valor Mountain," Melia said. "Perhaps someone should tell Tesla about this?"

"I'll tell her. Got a few things I want to discuss with her, anyway," Will offered.

"Thanks a bunch Will!" A very grateful Melia told him.

"Yeah, don't forget to say hi to Amber," Venam chimed in.

"I'm not falling for that," Will shot back.

Walking through a resort town with such beautiful weather and seeing that the place was empty and abandoned was a disconnecting experience. Teila Resort should have been booming at this time of the year…and yet he didn't see more than a dozen or so people on his way to Tesla, the majority of them being workers.

Were they too essential to evacuate? Forced to stay in Terajuma to keep the resort running for those too stubborn or too unfortunate to get on an evac boat and leave? Or did he have it the other way around, had Tesla decided to keep them here because this was their home, and their presence simply meant that she could keep the resort running?

He felt like he was thinking in circles again. That seemed to happen more often these days, especially after he woke up in the morning.

At least some things didn't change…

Tesla seemed to be in a fine mood this morning. She perked up when she saw him and greeted him warmly. "Hello Will! How are you doing today?"

"Just fine," he mumbled his response. "We actually got a report this morning that something exploded in Valor Mountain tonight."

His comment took her by surprise. "Wow, something exploded in Valor Mountain? Hm…maybe it would be best for me to take a closer look with Talonflame after all…"

"I could go with you, provide some cover," Will offered.

Tesla's expression softened. "…look at you, barely a few months along the way and you're already flying with your Pokemon." Something dark came over her features. "You are offering to approach the most dangerous place for you in all of Terajuma…to help me take a closer look?"

Will didn't see what the problem was. "It's enemy activity. Only makes sense that I at least scope things out before we start the assault."

"Enemy activity…your assault…" Tesla shook her head and the look in her eyes was so sad. Why did she look so sad? "How old are you, Will?"

He remembered thinking about turning nineteen this year back on the Oceana. "Eighteen. Nineteen in a couple of months. Why?"

"You and your friends have – "

The door opened and a distraught Amber barged inside. "Mom?" She said, sounding uncharacteristically subdued. "There's this weird ass guy hanging around my hangout spot in Aquamarine Cave!"

"Weird guy?" Tesla asked.

Amber nodded vigorously and her fiery ponytail danced back and forth as she did. "I was just going down there to rehearse a bit and there he was! The weirdo started trying to have a conversation with me and everything."

"Well," Will sighed, pushing himself off the wall. Valor Mountain would have to wait. "Let's see what this guy is about, right?"

Amber stared at him like a Deerling caught in the headlights. "You? Why would you - ?"

Will wanted to tell her that, as a fellow weird guy, he was practically a recognized authority. Considering Amber already thought him a sissy, he decided to try something more honest. Something simple. "We did barge into your life unannounced. Least I can do is help you out."

Amber's eyes narrowed with a hint of suspicion. "This guy told me to tell you something specifically, mom."

"Oh?"

When Amber told her what this weirdo had said, Tesla abruptly stood from her desk. Her face became a mask of impassiveness, making it impossible to guess what she was thinking. "Kids. Stay right here and don't move a muscle," she said. Her voice was gentle, but lined with a steely authority that made it very clear that she would be going alone. "I will be right back."

Frowning, Amber watched her mother leave. She uttered an explosive sigh and then flung herself onto the nearest sofa. "Things have gotten so weird around here," she said. "It all started with that insufferable broadcast! First I'm being sent away, then I'm being asked to perform this stupid ritual…and now my hangout spot has some weirdo living there." She lashed out in frustration and het boot connected with Tesla's desk. "I just want some peace and alone time! Is that so much to fucking ask for!"

Will nodded sagely. "It's weird ass hell out here," he said, putting a special emphasis on a particular word.

And holy hell Amber snickered at that. "Pfft…okay, that was kinda funny, I'll admit it. I don't even know why I called him a "weird ass". I've never called anyone that before. I'm out of it lately." She sighed, then readjusted her position on the couch so that she could comfortably lie across its length. "May as well get comfy. Mom can be slow as hell."

"Hmm."

Amber shot him a look. "So who are you anyway? Why are you hanging out with that purple-haired bitch?"

"I'm Will. Your mother saved my life when Team Xen attacked the S.S. Oceana. I uh…have been fighting them ever since," he replied, making a tactical call not to talk about Venam. At all.

"That so?" She eyed him again, as if searching for something specific. "Why? Looking for payback?"

"Because they're assholes," Will growled. "They're not letting up. So I can't either."

"Mom saved you…" Amber mused to herself. "She never bothered to mention that."

Will shrugged. "All in a day's work for her, I guess."

"Whatever…so who is that blond chick? Why is Team Xen after her in particular?"

"I know, it's weird as well; they wouldn't give me a clear answer no matter how nicely I asked," Will quipped.

Amber snorted again and looked away.

On a more serious note, Will continued, "Don't know. We're not going to find out, either."

"Because you'll…what, protect her?" Amber said. "You saw that big fucking army, right? What's the point…"

Now that Amber wasn't busting a vein glaring at Venam, maybe he could get a point of his own across. "Someone I hold in high regard told me that there is always a way. I just gotta find it."

With a scoff, Amber said, "Cute. Sounds like an idiot to me…"

Will looked at her. "He's dead now."

Amber stiffened. She looked back at him, and something like guilt or shame flickered across her features for just a second. "Fuck," she muttered. "Sorry…"

"Team Xen murdered him," Will continued calmly. Evenly. Without any blame or accusation.

"Well…that's just what I mean…" Amber muttered. She didn't meet his eyes. "Why fight back if it gets you killed? What did he even achieve?"

Will sat down on the other couch next to Amber. "He died breaking Team Xen's plan. He died and suddenly, they couldn't go through with what they wanted to do anymore. And that saved the lives of a couple thousand people."

Amber looked at him sharply. "Bullshit," she spat.

Will held her gaze. "Carotos Mountain, Sheridan Village. Team Xen would have made the whole thing explode. He helped put a stop to that."

"And I'm supposed to believe that?"

So much suspicion, so much bitterness. Someone or something had hurt Amber deeply in her youth. Was it that incident with the fire? Or was there something else behind her anger?

"I was there. You know, if you want, I can show you one day," Will offered, keeping his voice nonchalant while he took that massive gamble. "The place collapsed, but it's all still there."

Amber didn't respond to that. She looked away again, and Will wasn't sure if she was thinking about something or simply ignoring him altogether now.

A minute later, he got his answer. "I can't believe I have to look at their fucking faces again..."

"Where did you learn to play guitar?" Will asked.

Amber shot him a glare. "What?"

"Your guitar play. It's good; did you teach yourself?"

"Guitar play…" she muttered angrily under her breath. "No…yes, I guess it's mostly self-taught. Why?"

He shrugged. "I don't know much about guitars myself. I haven't had the chance to listen to music since…" he frowned, realizing that the first and only moment he'd had the enjoy someone's music was when he'd met Pianolady. Before Team Xen tore everything apart.

"Since what?" Amber gruffly said.

"That uh, would be the Oceana," Will said. Suddenly, he wasn't at all confident in his ability to keep this conversation going anymore. The calm, detached approach seemed to have worked well enough before, but now he'd walked right back into the minefield that was his mind.

"Are you seriously telling me you haven't listened to music since my mom plucked you from that tub?" Amber said.

Sheepishly, Will nodded.

"That's one of the saddest fucking things I've heard all week."

Oh, he had plenty more where that came from. "The point was, I thought it was nice."

"Nice…" Amber grumbled. " Nice. You sound like a tool when you say it like that, uh…what was your name again?"

"Will."

"Yeah, that. Well, that was just me fooling around. You wanna hear some real fucking music, then…" She stopped talking and her voice trailed off.

"Then?" Will asked.

"Whatever, forget about it..." Amber said with an angry sigh.

It seemed the conversation was over, then.

At least Amber didn't run away again.

After an hour or so of waiting, Tesla suddenly barged into the room again and Will nearly leapt a meter in the air when she did. She seemed tense, her features set in something careful and guarded. "Will, I need you to come with me for a second," She said. Her voice was calm, but he detected an undertone of urgency.

"Did you find him?" Amber questioned.

"Yes," Tesla said.

"And?"

Tesla sucked in a breath. "Well, it's complicated…"

Complicated.

That wasn't the word Will would have used for another Team Xen incursion. That wasn't it, then. What was this about?

Tesla wouldn't explain. She'd gathered Venam and Melia too. They were waiting for them outside. Amber was fuming, but she kept remarkably calm given the circumstances. Something in this situation was off and Amber, be it because she knew her mother's demeanor or because she felt the tension in the air, eased off because of it.

Will appreciated that.

Tesla led them deeper into the Amethyst Caves, heading towards Amber's usual spot. There, just around the corner, she suddenly stopped. "Amber, we must wait here."

"What? Why?" Amber demanded.

"This is important for Melia, Venam and Will," Tesla explained. "We have to give them some space. Please, you three go on ahead."

Amber, looking pissed off and confused, turned to face Will. "Is this guy important or something? I'm confused."

"Amber, not now," Tesla chastised.

Amber shot her mother an annoyed look, then dropped her gaze to the ground. "I wasn't talking to you," she muttered.

But Amber stayed behind.

And Melia, Venam and Will continued on. They rounded the corner and immediately saw that the weird ass guy was there to stay. He'd brought in computer equipment and metal folding chairs and tables and everything.

The man rose from his seat and it was him, it was Jenner, it was Melia's father –

It was Team Xen.

A wave of anger and dread pulsed through him and he instantly spun around, expecting Death Wings and ambushes and blackness and pain –

But it was just Tesla and Amber. Just Venam and Melia.

"Dad?!" She yelled, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

Jenner looked at her and the utter elation and relief on his expression was even more confusing than his sudden presence here. "Melia!" He yelled and he darted towards her.

That single word and the four scared steps Melia took to back away from the man were all Will needed to shake off his stupor. He moved faster than Jenner could and put himself in-between the father and his daughter. He placed a hand against Jenner's chest – gently, because he thought of Keta and of Tesla and of Melia's desire to have him back in her life – and the Jenner stopped. Confusion flickered across his features, before they set into something like pain…before turning to shame.

"Easy, Professor," Will said quietly. He checked Jenner's hands – no knife, no Pokeballs – and risked shooting a look at Melia over his shoulder. Her eyes blazed with anger and she already had a Pokeball in her hand.

Suddenly Will didn't know who he was really protecting from who.

"Professor? What are you doing here?" Venam questioned.

"He's the reason why we're all in this mess to begin with!" Melia shouted. "He's the one who sent me off to Goldenwood Forest so that Team Xen could capture me! And they would have succeeded too, if Will hadn't been there to help me."

Jenner raised his hands slowly. "Please allow me to explain my situation," he said with impossible calmness. "I understand how you must feel – I know I have betrayed your trust. But I never intended to give you up to Team Xen. Not for one second."

Jenner looked at Will, who slowly lowered his arm again. Jenner looked like hell; the bags underneath his eyes had their own bags and his blond hair looked like hadn't seen a comb in weeks. He looked ragged.

Seeing that nobody was going to attack him, Jenner took a few steps back, as if giving Melia the space she needed. "I was ordered to send you to the forest. That was one I couldn't circumvent as was constantly being watched. However, think back to the time I sent you to Goldenwood Forest. I told you to enter a specific code if you happened to run into trouble. What was inside the briefcase?"

"It was the Snag Machine," Melia snapped, still looking thunderous.

"Correct. I knew Team Xen was going to use Shadow Pokemon to attack you. I wanted you to have the best chances of survival so…" His voice trailed off. The look in his eyes as he stared at Melia was just so…helpless.

"I just…" Melia stammered.

Will wasn't sure if the Snag Machine would have done Melia any good if Team Xen had gone through with their original plan of mobbing her. It alone would never have saved her. Was that something he ought to bring up? Who was Jenner trying to convince here, anyway?

Venam interfered. "That's cool and all, but how are you here right now?"

"I planted a surprise explosion at the Xen compound inside Valor Mountain," Jenner explained eagerly, as if grateful for the suggestion. "I was able to use the chaos of the scene to make my escape. It wasn't easy, but I managed to steal a ship and make my way here."

Well, that was one mystery solved.

"The explosion reported last night…that was you trying to escape?!" Melia said.

"Yes! I initially tried to track down Tesla for help but the boat broke down and I had to pull up in this cove."

Will wanted nothing more than to believe Jenner and see one more family reunited, but…his boat broke down and that gave him access to this cave? That suggested there was an alternate entrance to this cave that could be reached via sea.

Via Valor Mountain.

That was a problem.

Melia shook her head. "This is just awfully convenient…what if this is just another attempt to trick me?" She demanded. Then, she turned to him. "Will…this is the moment, this is what you said would happen, but I don't feel it! I don't know! What do we do?"

I trust your judgment.

The facts were thus: Valor Mountain had seen an explosion. Jenner was here. He had revealed himself to Amber and asked her to ask for Tesla.

Tesla, not Melia.

A plan to lure Melia in could have fractured into a dozen different paths from there. What if Tesla hadn't come? What if Tesla had called the rangers? What if Tesla hadn't believed him and moved to arrest him instead?

What if, what if, what if…

What if Giratina swoops in right now and takes her?

Emotions were hard to fake. Anyone who wasn't an absolute psychopath would not be able to fake what Professor Jenner had shown. That look on his face as Melia had recoiled in fear? As far as Will could tell, that was genuine.

So…"I believe him," Will said.

"You really do?" Melia whispered.

Behind them, Tesla spoke up. "If this gives you any solace, I believe in Professor Jenner myself. Me and him went through a lot of talking down here and he seems to be telling the truth. And I told him that if this turns out to be a ruse that I won't hesitate in stepping in."

The tension slowly seeped out of Melia's shoulders. She folded her arms across her chest, but it looked more like she was trying to protect herself than to put on a brave front. "Well…I guess that makes me feel a little better."

"Now that I am free from Team Xen I want to help out as much as I can! I don't want to buy your trust with gifts, but I have something for you, Melia. I would like you to have this." He withdrew a Pokeball from his pocket and Melia flinched, her hand dropping to her own pouch, and that anxiety-induced gesture hurt the man. His lip trembled and he was unable to even look at Melia as he slowly, with a trembling hand, offered her the Pokeball. "This is my Noivern. It has been…invaluable to me personally, I believe you would make better use of it," he said.

"…thanks," was the only thing Melia said as she took his Pokeball. She turned her back to him, and Will saw her physically struggling to contain her tears. "This was all…very nice of you…but I feel like we should return to the resort."

"…I understand," Jenner said, looking like he had to force the words out. "I will be here."

"Yeah."

Melia walked away.

Venam cast an angry, hesitant look at Jenner, then hurried after her.

"Professor, I really hope you're sincere," Will said. If Jenner wasn't…if this was some sort of elaborate trick on Team Xen's part, one that he had willingly partaken in…he felt like Melia would never recover from that. It would break her. "So stay safe, okay? Don't make her lose her father again."

"…I will be careful," Jenner said. "And…for whatever it's worth…thank you, Will."

"I will keep an eye on him too," Tesla said. "He'll need food and water down here anyway. Let's get you back to the resort now, hmmm? Feels like you guys have a lot to talk about now."

"Yeah. Thanks, Tesla." He glanced at Amber, who still looked as angry and confused as ever. "You too, Amber."

Back at their apartment, Valarie gathered the rest of the gang and assembled them at the front of the house. She put Melia down on the bench, handed her a bottle of water and then sat down next to her. As Melia gratefully drank, Val said, "I'm not sure about this whole thing."

"If he didn't want to screw Melia over, he sure did his best to make it seem that way," Venam growled.

"He seems to genuinely want to help," Melia said. "But…one bad move and it's over, y'know? I don't want to jeopardize things. We've come too far."

Val wrapped an arm around Melia's shoulders. "Trust your instincts. If you feel bad vibes from him, then I don't think we should associate with him. But if you feel like he's trying to help…well, we won't talk you out of trusting him."

"Thanks, Valarie," Melia muttered.

"Oh, hey, I know what will help!" Venam exclaimed. "You need to give yourself some room to think. Instead of deciding right now, how about we go get a drink at this terrace out there at sea? Get you some berry juice or a smoothie, find something to distract you while your heart processes all of…you know, this."

"I dunno…" Melia said.

"Actually, I think that could work," Aelita said. "You're obviously all tense right now and for good reason. That's a bad headspace to make decisions at. So, we hang out, and you relax, and when you've calmed down enough, then you make your call."

"Aelita's right. You never want to make decisions when you're emotional," Adam chimed in. "You guys go get something to drink. We'll be here."

They all went back into the house. Will held the door open for Braixen, then noticed Aelita wasn't moving back inside with them.

He looked over and saw that she'd sat down next to Melia as well. "Um, Melia? I know It's not really my place to give my opinion…" she started.

"No, I want to hear your thoughts," Melia replied. "Please."

"Well…I was sorta once in your position once. You see, in Carotos mountain, Will and I found out that my dad…"

Quietly, he shut the door behind him again. It seemed like he wasn't the only one who had the Sensei on his mind lately. Keta had inspired him to keep pushing on. He hoped that, through Aelita, he would manage the same for Melia.

"I hope you're looking down right now," Will whispered. "We're gonna need you before this is over…"

Meanwhile, Venam brought him up to speed about this spot she wanted to check out. Her plan was deceptively simple; feed Melia a couple of smoothies and some berry juice, tell her some awesome story to get her mind off of things and then figure out what to do about Jenner later.

Will found himself agreeing and sat back while Venam got things started. She plotted the route to the terrace and when Aelit and Melia came back inside, having finished their heart-to-heart, they wasted no time in heading out again.

Along the way, Venam began telling stories about her stint as a solo artist. She explained how she eventually got into contact with Holly and subsequently planned her haphazard journey to Terajuma.

Aelita, Melia and him listened to her talk. Venam was a good story-teller; she spoke with a genuine passion and emotional inflection. No wonder she wrote her own songs these days; she had a way with words.

She took them to a cozy spot at this sidewalk cafe with an open view of the sea. There, in a little corner, they all sat down and took a look at the menu.

"I think I'll start with a berry juice," Melia said after a few moments of careful consideration. "You?"

"Some soda's fine for now," Venam replied.

"Oooh…strawberry smoothie!" Aelita breathed.

"Something something electrolytes," Will said.

Venam shot him a puzzled look. "Electrowhats?"

"Oh, you jerk," Aelita grinned.

"When it's hot and you're sweating, you need electrolytes," Will said, poking fun at something Aelita had told way back at Route Three.

"Oh, I…don't see that on the list of beverages…" Melia said, peering back down at the menu card again.

"He says he wants a soda as well," Aelita said. "Since you've picked up so much from me, how about you go and pick up drinks then?"

Will got to his feet and approached the counter. Apparently, this place was more of a bar than a cafe. No waiters or waitresses to pick up orders, just a few dedicated and hard-working bartenders who could put together some mean smoothies.

Will came back carrying the tray of drinks to the table just in time to hear Venam enthusiastically talking about sewers, a strange door and a large courtyard stacked with massive hedges, several gates and beautiful flower gardens.

Venam was talking about Maria's mansion.

About Indriad.

Everything inside of him came to a howling halt. For a moment, Will watched Venam casually lean back in the lounge, putting one leg over the other as she began making big, grandiose gestures to accentuate her words.

The tray was shaking. Will only noticed it when the berry juice began sloshing over and one of the soda bottles nearly swayed dangerously.

"And there was this second gate there, just as tall as the first, and this one was barred with a piece of metal on the other side and – "

Will made his way back to his friends. He tried to shut out Venam's voice. Tried to wrap his head back into his bubble and focus his attention on something else. The ocean or the sun or the pleasant breeze or –

But she mentioned his name.

" – crafty as always, Will managed to make his way through an opening and came out in front of us there. So we – "

Slowly, with exaggerated care, Will put the tray down. It came down shakily.

"– oh hey Will! Bomb, thanks for the drinks!"

Aelita and Melia reached out for their drinks. Melia pulled her glass from the tray, noticed that parts of it had spilled, and cast him a curious look.

"Stubbed my toe," he mumbled.

"No worries, I'll get the next round," she said, and she gave him a warm smile.

"Right, so, Luca and Lenny are all hesitant about entering through this window right? But I tell them that Gearen is done for if we don't do something, so we keep going. The four of us go through the window and this mansion just reeks of evil you know? Carpets like bloodtrails, black tiles everywhere and furniture that looked as white as skeletons!"

"Definitely sounds like an evil mansion," Aelita said, chewing on her straw as she listened with rapt attention.

"Right? But the place wasn't abandoned at all. This angry guy clad in strange, black and red robes comes walking up to us and he's pissed that we're intruding."

It came back to him in a way he wasn't prepared for. Venam's uppity anger. Her furious demands. Indriad's outrage. His dark, empty eyes, the foreboding sense of power and hostility…

Will tried to marshal the thoughts and memories that zipped around his brain, but he couldn't. He couldn't get a grip on them.

"And I told this guy that he had to fix this problem now! It's his mansion and he is screwing over our city! At first, he's muttering to himself about our worlds colliding or some shit, and he's not listening to I shout at him to shut the hell up and fix this."

"Wait, you broke into his home and started yelling at him?" Melia asked. "I don't think that's a good way to get someone to help."

"Yeah, I guess," Venam mumbled awkwardly. She caught herself in a heartbeat, and her next words were boisterous and enthusiastic again. "But don't worry; this guy is real piece of shit. An absolute mother- err, asshole. He didn't care at all about ruining our city and told us to get the hell out of his house."

Will wrapped his arms around his stomach as if would help him fight down the panicky nausea. He'd forgotten about Indriad's anger, the sheer indignity in his eyes at Venam's yelling.

"So I push him and tell him to fix things now, that we wouldn't leave without a solution! Gearen City's going to fall apart if we can't get this done so I keep pressuring! And man, he didn't take that well. This guy get's really pissed. Tells us that we're going to stay and that we'd wish we never did or some shit. He tells us his name – "

Indriad Theolia, Will mouthed. A low, numbing buzz began in his head as the memories whipped around his mind and filled him with more than just panicky sort of anger…and fear.

"Indriad Theolia. He starts telling us about some clichéd, bogus prophecy or some shit, but while he did, he secretly kept us distracted he got his maids to surround us – "

"I'm sorry, his maids?" Aelita asked. "As in, those scantily-clad, female servants?"

A pale young woman with dead, black pits instead of eyes and cold, hard flesh –

"Eh, I wish," Venam said. She took a big gulp from her soda. "Nah, they're all clothed in old-fashioned stuff, really old-fashioned. They all looked the same, and they were completely emotionless. Anyway, this asshole goes and tells us that all doors and windows have been locked and that we wouldn't be leaving. He had us trapped!"

Something like true sickness began stirring in his stomach. Will kept his gaze down on the edge of the table. Adrenaline began kicking at his thoughts to run, run run -

"How did he lock you in while he was talking to you?" Melia asked. She leant forwards, resting her head in her hands and casually leaning on the table with her elbows. She looked so calm and at ease but she didn't get it, she didn't get it –

Calm. Down. Breathe.

He was panicking. He knew he was. This had happened before. He had handled it before. He needed to calm down. He needed to shut it out, focus on his surroundings. He could do this.

"Here's the thing!" Venam said, looking at Melia and Aelita as if to ascertain she had their full attention. "Indriad's not just an asshole, he's a freaking sorcerer! Some sort of freaky, magic-using, magical asshole! These servants of his? All of a sudden they're up close and all up in our grill! No chance, no shot, no way of fighting back!" Venam paused dramatically. "And then Indriad ordered them to seal our souls away!"

Hands plunging into his chest and grasping –

He pressed his arms so tightly against his stomach that it hurt. He felt sick. He couldn't do this.

"You are so full of it!" Melia laughed and she gave Venam a playful push. "Oh, you almost had me!"

"Yeah," Aelita said, though she sounded a whole lot less happy about it. "That's uh…you're making that up, right?" She laughed nervously.

"Yeah, you'd think so," Venam said, something like bitterness seeping into her voice. "But hell to the no! I'm dead serious. Swear it on our friendship, Melia. This bastard used some freaky shit to pull our souls from our bodies and seal them away! There's this flash of white light and boom, next thing I know– "

Will took a deep breath in one last-ditch attempt to calm himself down. It didn't work. Hazy panic pressed in on him as he felt those cold hands prying his ribs apart and grasping painfully, so very deeply, at a part of him he hadn't been able to protect.

"Venam, it's not working," Melia said with a lazy shake of her head. "Come on, you expect us to believe that? Will, give her a hand would you? What really happened?"

I can't, please don't make me –

He'd fought. They hadn't stopped. Wordless screaming, crying, begging –

Please no more –

"Uh, Melia," Aelita said. There was no amusement in her voice now. "I don't think we should be talking about – "

"Hey, it's true!" Venam exclaimed. "I swore, remember? Will, back me up here! Tell them what it was like!"

What it was like.

That was when it had happened. When they invaded him, when they hurt him where he was at his most vulnerable, at his most exposed, that was when they had taken from him and now, he couldn't remember, he couldn't remember and he would never remember –

"Will, hey, Will?"

Another hand touched him and something in him snapped as he leapt to his feet to escape –

He slammed both of his thighs against the heavy table and the pain was like a bucket of ice-cold water to his frayed, burning nerves. It took him a moment to realize that the hand he'd felt wasn't cold, wasn't dead, but simply Melia being Melia. Caring. Concerned.

Warm.

And now, staring at him with something like fear -

"Aw, dude, watch out!" Venam said as the bottles of soda went clattering across the table. Sizzling, bubbly liquid went everywhere, soaking into the tablecloth and rendering the tray one wet, sticky mess.

"I got it, I got it," Aelita said, plucking the bottles from the table and putting them upright again. "Hey, don't worry, I'll get some napkins."

Will swallowed a lump in his throat. "Sorry," he mumbled. His head felt light, his stomach heavy – his breathing was all wrong, too fast and too shallow. It wasn't working, he wasn't calming down.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Melia said, her eyes large and filled with concern. "Did this…did this actually happen? It's true?"

"Ah, fuck," Aelita hissed. "Will, look at me. I think you're – "

The full, sickening weight of what Indriad Theolia had done to him came crashing down on him and suddenly, he couldn't stay silent, couldn't keep the words to himself - his lungs burned, his throat itched – he had to get it out. He had to get it out or it would burn him alive. "It wasn't like that at all!" He heard himself screaming, and he couldn't stop himself. "They pulled my ribs out with their bare hands, breaking and tearing until they got to my – they took, they took – they - "

His legs stumbled against the empty chair and he nearly fell. The world whirled dangerously and his lungs began shaking in his chest and his legs were trembling and he couldn't stay there, he had to get out he had to get out –

"I can't do this," he said and the words came out strangled and rough. "I…Ineedsomefreshair."

Will turned and he fled, barely having enough wherewithal to know where or even why.

Just some fresh air, just need some fresh air -

Out of that terrace. Out of the street. Onto the water walkway away from the people. Towards…away. Just away.

~~~~~~~(IV)~~~~~~~

---

Venam stared. Shock and utter disbelief had rooted her to her spot even as Melia flew up from her seat to give chase, even as Aelita took her wrist and held her back, telling her that was a bad idea and that they needed to give him a little time.

She worked her jaw, mentally replaying the words Will had shouted at her. The anger in his voice, that… that wild look in his eyes…that wasn't the Will she knew. Shit, that wasn't even the Will she'd met up with this morning!

"What the fuck was that?" Venam said. What little people they had around them were whispering and casting shade, but she didn't care. Fuck them. "Hey, what happened? What was that?"

Aelita shot her a look and holy hell she looked pissed. What the hell for? Why was she so angry with her? "Damnit, you didn't know?" Aelita said. "I thought you knew!"

"Knew what!" Venam exclaimed, starting to get officially freaked out. "Don't get angry with me, I don't know shit!"

Aelita winced, then dropped her gaze. "Sorry, I'm…sorry, I didn't mean to get angry with you, it's…man, I sat there watching him work up to a panic attack and I didn't do anything!"

"It's not your fault," Melia told her. "I didn't see it coming either. Look, I'll go pay the tab and then we'll start looking for him."

After Melia paid, they dipped. Melia sent her Togekiss out and gently grasped his curious face between her hands. "Hapi, please find him. Don't bother staying high in the air; you won't find him from above. Sweep the beaches, stay low. Make sure he's alright, please!"

Hapi took off, and the three of them hurried along.

"I think something happened to Will that didn't happen to you," Melia hesitantly started. "He never talks about this sort of stuff, not with me."

"We've been traveling together ever since and he's never told me either," Aelita said, and Venam swore she could have seen Melia breathe out in relief. "If he hasn't told you, then he hasn't told anyone."

"Okay, full disclosure, this is what happened," Venam explained. "Everything I said was true. That asshole took our souls, 'cause the next thing I know is this bright white light and then Will is there, together with a little blond girl. Maria's her name, and she helped Will get out. Uhm, so Maria was this asshole's daughter, but Will said he was an abusive fuck so she defied him and together with Will they began raising hell across the mansion, starting by freeing Lenny and Luca."

"Ouch, my head," Aelita said. "Dimensional mansions? Soul-snatching maids? How does something like that even happen? Who is this guy?"

"…I think it suffices to say that Will's experience of the matter was wildly different," Melia said, biting her lip as she thought things over.

Venam racked her mind for the details. She remembered that Will had been all mad with her because of a stupid joke, and... "I didn't know, I swear!"

"We believe you," Aelita said, reaching out and giving her a reassuring nudge. "Right Melia?"

"Yeah, of course! I'm just wondering why your experiences were so different," Melia said, her brow furrowing in concentration – or anger. "How did this end?"

"Oh man, so, Maria challenged her father to a game, right? Our souls and freedom on the line, hers as well if she lost, that kind of twisted shit. So Maria and Will saved my friends, they saved my ass – " She stopped. Will had been angry with her over that stupid joke she made about Maria and…

she hadn't thanked him. Apparently, he'd gone through something horrible, but he'd never shown or told her that – and she had never thanked him for saving her either.

"Yeah?" Aelita urged her on. "What then?"

What then…"Then, that bastard teleported us all to some battlefield. He'd captured Lenny and Luca again and he forced Maria to ready herself. That sick fuck had altered the deal; Maria would fight Will, winner would take all." She paused again. Will had been so protective of that little girl…how long had she been out? How much time did Will and Maria spend fighting to make things right?

…why hadn't she asked him that?

"What the hell!" Aelita spat. "What kind of father would make his own daughter do something like that! And she had to wager her soul, too?"

"Y-Yeah," Venam said. "It took Will hours to find us again, he…" Fuck. Fuck. Will had fought Maria with all he had in a grueling match while bleeding from the back of his freaking head. "Well, he beat Maria. Afterwards, things got really weird and freaky, but the gist of it is that being a gaslighting abusive bastard to your daughter while your daughter inherited the same kind of powers you have is a very bad idea. Maria's the reason we made it back. She closed the rift."

"That's crazy…I can't imagine all of that happening while I stood there waiting! Do you think time was different there or something? Like, it didn't feel like much longer than a few hours."

"It was definitely more than a few hours," Venam replied. She fidgeted nervously. "So uhm…I didn't know this at the time, I swear, but Will had been running around with a bleeding head wound that he didn't have before Indriad took us. It was gnarly, too. When Maria closed the rift, Will went out like a candle."

Having Will's blood all over her hands was some of the most harrowing shit she'd experienced in her life. The thought that somehow, she would lose him after he'd fought so hard to free them all again…it had been horrifying.

And she'd only known half of it, she realized.

Will had gone through hell and back for her and he still wanted to be her friend and she hadn't ever thanked him for it.

…shit, she felt like a bitch.

"So this man, Indriad Theolia, took your souls, made Will and his daughter fight his sadistic games, and then broke his word, before trying to murder Will?" Melia asked, her voice deathly, unnaturally calm. If it hadn't been for the slight tremble in her voice, Venam would have completely missed the cold fury in her eyes too. "I see."

"I had no idea," Aelita said, shaking her head in quiet disbelief. "No wonder Will never wanted to talk about it."

"He didn't?" Venam shouted. "Fuck, why didn't you tell me! Oh man, I keep fucking things up…"

"I know," Aelita said, looking pained. "I didn't realize it was that story before Will was there again and when he didn't say anything, I thought it was fine! I screwed it up…"

"None of you screwed anything up," Melia told them resolutely. On a gentler note, she continued, "Venam, it's not your fault. Will's been freaking out over something for a while now. This is pure, bad luck…and the guilt lies fully with that man."

So before, Will had kept marching along even when he'd been bleeding from a shrapnel wound in his chest and he'd kept his shit together so well that nobody ever knew. Well, nobody but Melia, but she seemed to know a lot about Will so that wasn't exactly fair. But if having a freaking hole in his ribs hadn't fazed him, what had Indriad done to him to get him this freaked out? "Melia...you're right. Fuck that guy. If he's still out there, somewhere, I swear I'll make him pay."

"Yeah, you and me both," Aelita said. "Let's just find Will and…let's just find him."

"Wait!" Venam exclaimed. She started putting the pieces together now; that weird moment in Aquamarine Cave, everybody's refusal to go into detail about something that had happened in Akuwa Town and even Will being sorta okay back in her home. He still had everything together then.

Shit, she'd been the one who had broken down and he had been the one to comfort her, promising her that he'd always be her friend and that he would never leave her like all the others did -

She felt so stupid for putting it all together this late. "I know other shit happened, and I know Will doesn't want to talk about that either and I totally respect that, but can you please give me some context so that I don't royally fuck up again?" She felt an involuntary shiver run through her spine at the mere thought.

"Ehm…let's see, we've had Goldenleaf Town, Nim, Carotos Mountain, teleporting," Aelita began summing up.

"Teleporting?" Venam asked.

Melia shrugged. "I have no idea."

"…that's all fine. We don't talk about Akuwa Town…and…" Aelita winced. Her shoulders sagged and she cast a concerned look Melia's way. "Do we…?"

"It's only fair that she knows," Melia said. She took a deep breath. "Will's mother is dead. Team Xen murdered her, right in front of him. In front of…all of us."

Bam. A punch to the gut. A smack to the face. Will's mom was the sole reason he'd kept trucking along in Gearen City, even before he'd made any friends. It was the whole reason he'd even accepted her Gym Battle proposal. When she last saw him in Gearen City, Aelita and him had set out to continue fighting Team Xen just to get Will's mom back again.

Venam thought about her own mom. She thought about Tesla, about her missing dad.

Right in front of him.

She couldn't imagine the pain.

And fuck, Will had spent this morning hanging out. Jumped off a damn cliff with Adam. He'd obliged when she'd thrown him under the bus in front of that scary Head Ranger, he'd gone along without a single complaint even when that whole fucking mess with Amber and Saki had begun to pull him in, too.

He'd kept Melia safe all this time, even now.

"She's dead?" Venam hissed. "Why didn't you tell me sooner, that's horrible! Those fucking cocksuckers!"

"Honestly? There just wasn't any time, let alone an opportunity," Melia said unhappily. "There just hasn't been any time to grieve in peace. It's just been one thing after another."

"There was also that thing with Neved and then that confrontation with Geara and Zetta – "

"Zetta is back!"

" – Neved again, Helojak Island, all the nightmares…" Aelita's voice trailed off. "Um. So yeah. A lot has happened. Will's like, one of our strongest fighters, and he's been doing a lot of that."

Venam wasn't sure which emotion tore at her heart the most; the horror or the rage. No wonder Will was starting to freak out now. With all of the weird and horrible shit that had happened, she'd have expected a much bigger freak-out.

…unless a much bigger freak-out was in the works and this was just the start of things.

In which case…crap.

That Team Xen…how dared they go after her friends like that! She'd make them pay. Somehow, she'd make them pay!

Hapi flew overhead again. He moved closer in ever-decreasing circles until he was right above Melia. "Guys, Hapi's found Will. He's…what way? Oh, that's the beach. Thanks Hapi, you're the best! Stay on overwatch for now, 'kay?" She turned to Venam and Aelita with a look of excitement. "Come on!"

Hapi was right. Will was on the beach. He lay underneath one of the palm trees. He'd taken off his boots and buried his legs in the sand with only his toes sticking out. The massive palm leaves almost concealed him from view. It took them a while to even spot him and when Aelita did, it was only because she'd guessed that Will would have hunkered down somewhere where the enemy wouldn't easily find him, and started searching for places with cover in particular.

Which, to Venam, sounded like the saddest fucking thing she'd heard in weeks. In the middle of a freakout, Will still fought about how to keep the enemy from finding and hurting him. She wasn't sure if she ought to be proud or really fucking bummed out.

She went with both.

"Will!" Aelita cried out. She waved at him, but he didn't physically react. His gaze was locked on the sea, and Venam guessed it wasn't because of the pretty view.

Or maybe it was, because apparently she knew fuck-all about her friend. "What…what do we do now?" She asked, uncertain.

"Well…" Melia started. "It goes something…like this." She calmly strolled towards the palm tree, folding her hands behind her back like the picture of serenity. "There you are!" She said, her voice cheery and calm and just…so casual. "Mind if I join you?"

Still he didn't respond. Venam felt her heartbeat gradually pick up. Her legs carried her forwards on auto-pilot and she stuck close to Aelita, but she was starting to feel jittery and nervous and not in a good way.

She didn't want him to be mad at him. She didn't want him to leave her, not like Luca and Lenny had, not after she thought she'd lost Melia too. She couldn't find a friend and lose another one in the same day.

Melia sat down next to Will and pulled one knee up to her chest. She gazed out at the sea, apparently content to stay there. After half a minute, Aelita joined her, sitting down next to Will on the other side.

Venam remained rooted to the spot. Another minute passed and then Aelita patted the ground next to her, and offered Venam an understanding and kind smile.

Slowly, hesitantly, Venam sat down next to Aelita. She craned her head around to get a closer look at Will. He…didn't look bad. He didn't look like he was freaking out. He just looked tired...

No, that wasn't right. Venam wasn't that good at picking up social cues, but her time as a Gym Leader had taught her a few things about the more basic emotions and how they could be really subtle to spot.

The muscles around his jaw were tense, his skin was a bit too pale and his eyes…just a smidgen too wide.

…was that anger, or fear? Both? Shit, could be neither, Will had a killer of a pokerface.

"Do you want to talk?" Melia asked pleasantly after a minute of silence.

Will stirred. He swallowed, then tore his gaze from the sea and looked down. He clenched his hands, then unclenched them. "I'm fine," he croaked.

"I don't think you're really that fine," Aelita said.

He ran a hand through his brown hair. "Really. I'm fine."

"Do you remember the last time you smiled?" Melia asked.

Venam saw the question coming in from the left field. Will blinked a couple of times, then opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out.

"I haven't seen you smile once since I first found you in Blacksteeple Castle," Melia then continued. "And considering everything that's happened, that only makes sense…but even when you fought your match against Venam…when you looked so proud about your new hat…when you go running with Aelita or jumping off cliffs with Adam…you never smiled."

Will pulled his knees up out of the sand and towards his chest. Unlike Melia, who casually rested her head atop her knee, Will almost seemed to make himself smaller doing so. He wrung his hands restlessly before glancing around at his surroundings in a breathless manner. "I…" He started. "So I…uh…back then…"

Then, he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes and just seemed to deflate. The tension seeped out of his body and his knees slumped to the ground again. "I can't remember," he whispered. "I can't remember anymore. Everything's gone."

Something like dismay touched Melia's gaze. "What do you mean?" She asked, and Venam was amazed at how calm she managed to make her voice sound.

Will planted the back of his head against the tree's bark and looked up, as if seeing something that the rest of them didn't. "When Maria…brought me back, something went wrong or…something had already gone wrong. She brought me back…but not all of me." Moisture appeared in the corners of his eyes and he took a moment to wipe at them again. "I can't remember if I have a family or where I came from. I can't remember what my father looks like or if I even have one. I can't…remember if I had friends or if I traveled before or if I like the color blue." His voice, too, was superficially calm, but Venam saw that he was, like, really freaked out.

And with good reason – after everything that asshole Indriad did, he'd somehow also taken Will's memories? How, why? Why him?

"I have a hole in my mind where a life before Aevium is supposed to be," he continued. He took a few deep breaths, then dug his hands into the sand. "I can't remember anything from before I arrived here in the Oceana. Everything else is gone…gone…"

Venam looked from Aelita, who stared at Will with wide-eyed disbelief, to Melia, who had brought her hands to her mouth in an expression of horror.

And…yeah, she felt that so much. How was someone even supposed to react to that?

Amidst a storm of horror and pity and shock and wild, burning anger, Venam blurted out, "Holy shit, you've fought Maria while bleeding from your head without memories?"

"You never told me," Aelita said. She sounded hurt. "All this time? We've trekked halfway across Aevium together and you never told me that?"

"And then what?" He said. "You were already taking care of me. How was it going to help us if I started being a…a burden?"

"A burden!" Aelita snapped, her eyes blazing with outrage. "Will, you moron!" She clenched her fists and for a single, nerve-wracking moment, Venam thought that Aelita would do something violent. She did give him an angry shove – but then she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and buried her head against his chest. "Weren't you the one who fought Giratina and Geara? Weren't you the one who broke Blacksteeple and Neved when everybody else got knocked around? Weren't you the one who kept fighting off Team Xen on every damn front?"

"You did all of that, without any memories?" Melia said, looking at Will as if she was seeing him for the first time. "Even back at Blacksteeple Castle? When Madame X…when everything began falling apart and you kept everything together for us, you did so even though that man took your entire life from you?"

"I...yeah," Will said, sounding about as helpless as he looked.

"That is legit the most badass thing I can imagine," Venam said. "Like, the cocksucker took away the thing that most people cannot even function without, let alone stay motivated, and still Team Xen gets their asses handed to them when you show up. A burden? Don't make me laugh. Will, you solve about nine out of ten problems we run into – you're allowed to feel and be fucked up."

Hearing her words, feeling Aelita wrap herself around him, Will looked like the physical embodiment of a computer popping a blue screen of death.

Melia twisted around in the sand. She planted her back against Will's arm, and rested her head against his shoulder. Her golden hair fell around her face and his arm like a curtain, gently billowing back and forth in the wind. "I don't have anything to add. I agree wholeheartedly with Venam. Without you, none of us would be here."

The look of sheer unadulterated shock and vulnerability on his face was too much for Venam to take. It tore at her heart. Like, what the fuck, when was the last time the guy had thought about himself?

She felt something hot sting in her eyes and she hurriedly blinked that away. She was the cool one here, she didn't do crying!

What she did do was make a promise. A vow, whatever the fuck people called it. Didn't matter. That bastard Indriad had hurt Will. Those fucks at Team Xen had hurt him worse.

But Venam swore, that would end. She'd come here to protect Melia. Now, she'd protect him as well. She didn't care what it would take or how she would do it. Nobody was going to hurt her friends again.

~~~~~~~(V)~~~~~~~

---

AN: Somehow I managed to wrap this one up before I have to go on an internet-less work-related trip for 2 weeks early on Monday. I had to make some changes to Jenner's scene to make it flow a bit better in-story.

Also, while I struggled a lot with getting the panic attack and the subsequent reveal right, I think it worked out. It's gonna take a lot of getting used to for our characters, but the cat's out of the bag now and they will have to find a way to make things work somehow.

I hope to be getting back to my regular schedule around September 17th. I'll see if I can find a way to react to the comments and messages in some way. Thank you guys so much for sticking around! Please leave a comment or review if you liked this chapter and I will see you all with the next update!